Baja in May is Good

Our Dad, the one and only Ralph Clock, left his earthly life on May 8, 2023, surrounded by his entire family. He lived life to its fullest, and while our hearts are heavy with grief, we are so lucky that he was our Dad. A memorial and celebration will occur in Newport Beach in July or August … Betsy Clock Bjornsen, Ralph Clock. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://bajabytes.com/2023/05/10/baja-in-may-is-good/

Fly fishing for roosterfish with @thereelbaja. We did most of our fishing from the boat this past week, but we managed to get out on the beach some of the time. We are still taking the long run to the North for bait when fishing from the boat, as the island has good concentrations of sardina. Sooo, that is where we have been going, and that is where we have been doing the better part of our fishing. On the days we were on the beach, we saw good mullet schools but only a handful of sardina. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://bajabytes.com/2023/05/02/baja-roosters-tease/

What a difference a week can make! The billfish bite heated way up moving into this weekend, and with the marlin came a few nice dorado, too. And although There weren't many, the ones caught were of very decent size. Crews mostly fished inshore at the beginning of the week, with some wind and choppy seas. However, they still produced, primarily in our "Other" Category – catching mainly sierra mackerel, bonito, and grouper. But by Wednesday, we saw the marlin begin to show up at the 11:50 Bank, and by Saturday, the fleet had released 100 marlin total! Compared to last week, when we saw about 15% of the boats releasing marlin, we had nearly 50% of the boats land 'em this week. The weather also got friendlier towards the end of the week, with winds dying. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://bajabytes.com/2023/04/26/baja-bytes-from-surface-to-bottom/

Action on the bottom showed signs of improvement recently, even though the bonito were still the most common species found. We saw a few more leopard grouper, Almaco jack, and red snapper (huachinango) while working for the rock piles with yo-yo jigs. In addition, we saw a mix of barred pargo, yellow snapper, triggerfish, and additional species, which are delicious eating fish. Scattered throughout these same grounds were a handful of dorado, a few of which was over 15 pounds. No wahoo were reported, though as the weather continues to warm, we expect water temperatures will also warm, and the wahoo should become more active, as they typically do this time of year. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://bajabytes.com/2023/04/19/baja-bottom-fish-rock/

Our spring season is in full swing with roosterfish, amberjack, yellowtail, sierra mackerel, grouper, mako, and thresher sharks, some decent mahi catches, and still, some marlin are around … Pisces Sportfishing…Pisces Sportfishing Fleet Link This episode is also available as a blog post: http://bajabytes.com/2023/04/11/baja-roosters-begin-to-crow/

The week's highlight was the wahoo that anglers hooked into while trolling closer to Punta Gorda or Cardon. Not the typical season for these highly prized pelagics, but it proves that you can never really know what might happen. These fish prefer warmer waters, but the bite was sporadic daily, and slow trolling live bait was the best bet, particularly the elusive chihuil. We saw one monster 79-pound wahoo landed and several others over 50 pounds, so of the handful brought in, they were of impressive size. This episode is also available as a blog post:

Captain Jose Antonio “Pepe” De la Peña Castillo and mates Arturo Peralta and Ulises on the 62 ft Viking “Chasin Tail” had heard some rumors that a few swordfish were seen finning at the 1150 Spot during the past several days. After tacking back and forth searching for the swordfish tail and dorsal, often referred to as a “two-finner,” they finally spotted some commotion on the surface, creating a large patch of white water. Suddenly the fish appeared near the top, confirming it was a feeding thresher shark...More This episode is also available as a blog post: http://bajabytes.com/2023/03/29/baja-spring-on-the-horizon/

Shrimp boat BUSTED in El Sargento • As a result, 1,600 kilos of shrimp extracted without permits were retained, in joint action between FONMAR, CONAPESCA, PROFEPA, ROC and SEMAR. Following the indications of the Governor, Víctor Manuel Castro Cosío, in the sense of permanently monitoring the correct use of marine resources on the South Californian coasts; personnel from the Fund for the Protection of Marine Resources (FONMAR), the National Aquaculture and Fisheries Commission (CONAPESCA), the Secretary of the Navy (SEMAR), the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (PROFEPA) and in response to complaints from the fishing sector, Network of Citizen Observers A.C. (ROC), an inspection and surveillance operation was recently carried out in the area of the Gulf of California, in front of the fishing town of El Sargento in the municipality of La Paz, obtaining as a result the lifting of two reports on the shrimp boat " Sebastián XV” for breaking the law. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://bajabytes.com/2023/03/07/fonmar-conapesca-profepa-roc-semar-working/

Highlighting the participation in the form of the federal deputies members of the Fisheries Commission, Leonor Coutiño Gutiérrez and Ángel Miguel Rodríguez Torres; Porras Domínguez pointed out that it is necessary to join efforts to stop the initiative to catch the dorado for commercial sale if it were presented before the Congress of the Union, since “it is a commercial fisherman and not recreational anglers who want to catch dorado for commercial sale.” This episode is also available as a blog post: http://bajabytes.com/2023/02/28/fonmar-declares-to-protect-sportfishing/

 "First Annual Sport Fishing Forum in Baja California Sur," during which the status of sport fishing in Baja Surwill be analyzed.  February 22 and 23 at the Hotel Tesoro in Cabo San Lucas, BCS. · There will be limited space; pre-registration is open at  www.foros.fonmar.gob.mx. · Sustainable fishing unites us! · #FonmarBCS · #foroannualpescadeportiva2023 This episode is also available as a blog post: http://bajabytes.com/2023/02/20/fonmar-sportfishing-forum/